Affirmative reaction is a thing - there is ample proof. I was ecstatic when I received my 1530 in March. I haven’t retaken the SAT since because I was happy with it. Now I’m having second thoughts. What is considered a “safe” score for an Asian (Indian) applicant to t10-15 schools? (Think Brown, Penn, Dartmouth. Not Harvard, Yale, Stanford) does a 1530 bode well for me? Obviously I know its not a bad score, just wanted to quench my anxieties.
If you have time, and money is no issue, take it again. Yes, top tier schools allegedly do reverse affirmative action. Harvard is currently being sued for it.
But you’re prob better off padding your application. Go invent something. Harvard won’t care what race you are if you happen to be the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg.
QUOTE does a 1530 bode well for me?
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Brown, Penn and Dartmouth also have low acceptance rates. Sure, go ahead and retake, but the applications are looked at holistically. If you have a hook - legacy with large contributions , recruited athlete etc., then your chances may improve. If you are an unhooked male of Indian descent,without any notable EC’s , you’ll have to compete for a few spots with hundreds of others with a similar profile - even with a higher SAT score.
1530 and 1600 are the same, both 99th percentile. Schools know this. Plenty of 1600s get denied. A 1530 won’t be the reason you get denied. The reason, if it happens, will be that FAR too many fully qualified applicants applied to far too few schools. There isn’t a great way to separate them.
Don’t waste your time OP. Polish the rest of your application.
Do some achievement (other than standardized test based) that earns a rare award or recognition at the state or national level, or play a sport good enough to be recruited at your target colleges.
There are no “safe scores” for super-selectives, although the “top tier” at those schools is generally 750+ in RW, 750+ in M, and 21+ on the Essay (if you take it). Don’t fret about “race”–it’s just self-pity, and with scores like that you’ll wind up at a great school. Well earned and congrats!